TRINIDAD and Tobago’s Consulate in New York (NY) remains closed until further notice, after deadly mega storm Sandy battered several states along the east coast of the United States on October 29, leaving over 100 dead and tens of thousands affected by the flooding.

In a statement issued on Monday, Consul General Rudrawatee Nan Ramgoolam said the office remains with no electricity and its telephone and internet lines are down, due to the damage caused to Lower Manhattan by Sandy.

“Our prayers are with our nationals and the American people affected by this disaster,” Ramgoolam said, as she asked TT nationals to co-operate with their local authorities who were working to restore services in various communities.

Nationals who require urgent Consular services and who live in the following States which fall under the Consulate’s jurisdiction: Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island and Vermont, were advised to contact either the TT Embassy in Washington DC or the Consulate General in Miami.

The Embassy may be contacted via e-mail ttembwash@gmail.com or by telephone 1-202-204-0812 extension 1009 or 1018. The Miami Consulate may be contacted via e-mail consulate@ttcgmiami.com or by telephone 1-305-374-2199 extension 114 or 300/320

Meanwhile, Ramgoolam assured that nationals with passport appointments at the NY Consulate would be “contacted when the office is operational.”

She also said, “the Consulate General will update the public via its website, social and public media” about the resumption of services at the NY office, located on the fourth floor of 125 Maiden Lane in Manhattan. On Monday New York’s chief medical examiner put the death toll from Sandy at a minimum of 113 persons across several states, with 43 of those fatalities in New York City. Combining this figure with the two deaths in Ontario, Canada, and the 68 deaths in the Caribbean, Hurricane Sandy is estimated to have led to the deaths of 183 people. In terms of economic losses, New York Governor Andrew Cuomo said Sandy’s impact on his State was about $30 billion.